The Rise of the Mad March

By Rob Espenscheid, Jr.

A tribute to bar bands, musical dreamers, and offbeat ambition….

The Rise of the Mad March follows four mismatched musicians — Christine on lead, Henry on rhythm, Gretchen on bass, Melissa on drums — through the year they became a band and the month they toured. It’s a tribute to the greatest band that never was — a novel about the bands that never headlined, never got signed, and never had an answer when someone asked why they weren’t famous.

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A tribute to bar bands, musical dreamers, and offbeat ambition….

Two admitted felons on probation, one ‘Nam vet, and one Grosse Pointe deb collide to form an unlikely rock band. Internal conflict blows them apart. Faith in the music they make patches them back together for one wild-ride cross-country tour.

America, 1973. The Mad March: Christine on lead, Henry on rhythm, Gretchen on bass and Melissa on drums. A chaotic rise, fighting amongst themselves, battling self-destruction, finding their sound, learning to trust, finding a helping hand, overcoming convention (girls can’t play guitar) to become one band, on one tour, for one month – New York to LA and all the stories in between.

The Rise of the Mad March is for all the rock bands who never headlined the big stage, who never needed protection getting to the limo, who never made any money, who never got signed, who had no answer to the cry of “why aren’t you guys famous?” It’s for those who wrote killer songs never heard on the radio, who never made a Rolling Stone cover—or even a mention inside. It’s for those whose collars were always blue, who were promised this and wound up with that, who always opened and never closed.

Category: Historical Fiction

Publication Date: May 9, 2025

ISBN (paper): 978-1-965766-10-1

ISBN (ebook): 978-1-965766-08-8

Pages: 374

Trim size: 5.5 x 8.5

Olivia Swindler, author of Cynthia Starts a Band and Break the Glass
"The Rise of The Mad March is an immersive novel that draws you into the music world of the 1970s. From compelling characters to an unputdownable story, this book will have you tapping your foot to the beat of the music the whole way through!"

The VVA Veteran Books in Review II
“A tribute to womanly determination, Robert Espenscheid Jr.’s fifth novel taught me about the highlights and disappointments that abound in the every-dog-for-himself music business. Set in the early 1970s, the novel’s music world challenges anyone who plays an instrument. Espenscheid examines that by telling the stories of three cantankerous young women. With Vietnam War veteran Henry Hollins to promote and motivate them, Melissa, Gretchen, and Christine develop into rock musicians you won’t forget.”

Is The Rise of the Mad March based on a real band?

It is fiction. The world around it is not — the novel is set in the American bar-band circuit of 1973, and it is written as a tribute to the working musicians who never got signed.

What genre is The Rise of the Mad March?

Historical fiction, set in 1973. Closer to a road novel than to a music-industry story — the tour is one month, New York to Los Angeles.

About the Author

Rob Espenscheid, Jr.

Rob Espenscheid, Jr. is a Connecticut native and a 1966 Wake Forest College graduate. After an Army RVN stint in 1969, Rob pulled up stakes and moved to the rural Midwest, settling in southern Iowa in the early 1970s. Prairie life provided a career tuning and repairing pianos from cattle country small towns to colligate concert halls. When not tinkering on a piano, he can usually be found either on a golf course or working on a manuscript. In 1998, family connections led to a move, with his wife Sharon, to Smithville, Texas.

Reviews

Olivia Swindler, author of Cynthia Starts a Band and Break the Glass
"The Rise of The Mad March is an immersive novel that draws you into the music world of the 1970s. From compelling characters to an unputdownable story, this book will have you tapping your foot to the beat of the music the whole way through!"

The VVA Veteran Books in Review II
“A tribute to womanly determination, Robert Espenscheid Jr.’s fifth novel taught me about the highlights and disappointments that abound in the every-dog-for-himself music business. Set in the early 1970s, the novel’s music world challenges anyone who plays an instrument. Espenscheid examines that by telling the stories of three cantankerous young women. With Vietnam War veteran Henry Hollins to promote and motivate them, Melissa, Gretchen, and Christine develop into rock musicians you won’t forget.”

The Rise of the Mad March

Buy this book

Is The Rise of the Mad March based on a real band?

What genre is The Rise of the Mad March?

About the Author

Rob Espenscheid, Jr.

Reviews

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